BY APPOINTMENT
A fth of all LAPADA dealers are now open by appointment only – we nd out why
We’ve all been there. We like the look of an antiques shop or an antique for sale, but on further investigation find that the dealer operates ‘By appointment only’. What do you do? Phone the number and book a slot to view? Or decide you weren’t that keen on it anyway?
Many of us may veer towards the latter, a little too daunted to pick up the phone and book an appointment to visit a showroom or view an object. We decide it’s only for the super-rich or serious collectors. But as more antiques dealers choose to trade this way, running their businesses from their homes, industrial units, barns, antiques centres and o ces around the country, perhaps it’s time to embrace this method of shopping.
There are many di erent reasons why an antiques dealer might not have a traditional shopfront and conventional opening hours. Some have traded this way for decades, but the industry is seeing more shop owners closing their premises and joining them. A fifth of LAPADA (The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers) members are now appointment only. Why?
‘ The internet has made this method of trading more appealing to dealers, who can now promote themselves internationally,’ says Rebecca Davies, chief executive of LAPADA. ‘They find it more convenient to operate this way. Many of our members, who became dealers through passion for their subject, have limited sta and need to travel to source antiques, as well as concern themselves with selling them. Others regularly attend fairs around the country and abroad, and so a gallery or shop would often be left unattended.’
It’s an interesting way for an antiques lover to shop, too, says Davies: ‘ I always find LAPADA dealers are happy to share their knowledge – and perhaps anecdotes – as you browse their finds. Viewing by appointment is both a novelty and a personal experience. You will have the dealer’s full attention, should you wish.’
For Holly Johnson, who runs her eponymous antiques business on the edge of Macclesfield in Cheshire, operating by appointment only gives her greater flexibility. ‘ It allows me to visit clients and restorers, and I have more time to travel to find better pieces,’ she says. ‘ I also have three children, so this means I can balance family and work, and undertake other projects such as property development and interior design.’
It’s a win-win situation for both Johnson and her clients, as she says she can fit in with buyers’ schedules and devote her full attention to a client, most of whom are enquiring about a piece they’ve seen on her website. ABOVE Having owned an antiques shop in Brighton for six years, Alex MacArthur moved into a 14th- century monastery in nearby Rye. Here, customers can see how a piece works within a room, and buy something Alex loves enough to live with herself FACING PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT Early 19th- century comb- back Windsor chair, £ 4,800; mid 18thcentury Delft charger plate, £ 650, both Robert Hirschhorn; large 19th- century Italian giltwood cushion mirror, £ 3,200, LVS Decorative Arts
‘ Today, websites and social media act as our shop windows,’ says Alex MacArthur, whose former home in Brighton doubled as a showroom for several years before she moved down the road to Rye to run a similar enterprise in a Grade I-listed, 14thcentury monastery. ‘ The internet gives us a presence, so we no longer need shops. I’ve met people from Japan who saw me on Instagram.’
With its series of beautifully curated showrooms, MacArthur’s capacious monastery is very much a destination store and perfectly suited to private appointments where one can pore over her intriguing finds alone. ‘ I give clients a co ee or, if it’s later in the day, a glass of bubbly,’ she says. ‘ There’s something quite nice about not being too convenient. People almost see you as a private club.’
You might think that people who make a business from the past will be less keen to embrace modern technology, but antiques dealers are savvy when it comes to marketing their stock online and adapting to the way people shop. Some virtual boutiques are so well designed that they are almost as enjoyable to browse as their real-life counterparts. Good photography (and favourable returns policies) means buyers part with their cash without seeing the piece in person. But if you do want to view an item, it helps that most prices are listed online, so you don’t have to endure the awkwardness of asking how much.
Antiques dealer and television presenter Drew Pritchard has recently moved to a new warehouse in Llandudno, north Wales, and operates by appointment only because he finds that most of his sales are online. ‘ It benefits the client, as I can open earlier or later than usual if I know someone is coming, particularly over a weekend or a bank holiday,’ he says. ‘ We give the customer time to view and handle the item without any distractions.’
For buyers who’ve never shopped this way before, Pritchard says it’s helpful if potential customers outline what they’re looking for, in case he has stock that is not listed on his website. He, along with many dealers, is also happy for buyers to make o ers on pieces, and stresses that there is no obligation to spend money. One thing he asks is that enquirers give plenty of notice before an appointment.
But before you pick up the phone, you may still hesitate. Do you need a sizeable bank account for this kind of antiques shopping? ‘ Not necessarily,’ says Rebecca Davies. ‘Don’t be put o – you might miss some amazing finds.’